Today, Barack H. Obama was inaugurated as President of the United States for the second time.

I couldn't be happier or prouder, especially when he included the LGBT Community in his speech. This is a massive step forward for the Community as we continue to strive for equality under the law.

As I write this, 9 U.S. states (Connecticut; Iowa; Maine; Maryland; Massachusetts; New Hampshire; New York; Vermont and Washington) as well as the District of Columbia, legally recognize marriage between two people of the same sex. And while it seems likely that more states will be passing similar legislature in the near future, it is my hope that by the end of Mr. Obama's second term, the U.S. will join the many countries which already recognize the legality of such unions.

Sadly, there are those folks who claim that their religion(s) expressly forbids Marriage Equality. And to them I must ask: 'What has your God wrought upon those countries?' The answer, of course, is: 'Absolutely nothing.' The Netherlands, Belgium; Spain; Canada; South Africa; Norway; Sweden; Portugal; Iceland and Argentina have neither been flooded out of existence nor consumed by fire. Your argument is invalid.

Growing up in the 60's and 70's, I never imagined a world where our President would recognize that love is love, no matter who is loving whom. I admit to crying a bit when I heard Mr. Obama utter those words in is his speech. And knowing that the official Democratic Party's stance on the topic means that every Democrat who runs for POTUS will include Equality as part of his/her platform gives me hope for young LGBT folks everywhere. I also hope that I live long enough to see the day when this issue is as embarrassing for our nation as slavery was 150 years ago. And if there is an afterlife, I hope that Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Harvey Milk are all smiling down on our nation today.